Green Bay 9-7. Growing pains early but will finish strong at the end. Will be in the playoffs and survive the tie breaker with Detroit for the division title.

Detroit 9-7. A dome team to the core and with Martz at the helm Detroit will have a comeback of sorts. Will come out of gate on fire but will sputter to the end.

Minnesota. 8-8 While I used to cringe when Childress was the OC at wisconsin he did orchestrate some dominate running teams in wisconsin. Will be an up and down team all year. will remind many of the 1999 packers.

Chicago 6-10 Like always one good year time to go back to reality. Key injuries to its D in midseason will cause the destruction and demise of this team. While it has a strong core its depth is not all that deep and the disparity in quality after the starting lineup is stark.

The Bears have got to develop some type of offense if they plan on being successful in 2006. I do not think that Rex Grossman is the answer, and if they decide to stick with him they will not win the division. If Grossman gets injured I could see Griese leading this team to the playoffs. I almost think that Grossman remaining the starter for this team in the long run, is not a positive for this football team. They've got some RB "controversy" as Cedric Benson and Thomas Jones compete for the starting job. Both battled injuries during camp, so in the beginning this could simply be solved by picking the healthiest of the two. Or if they're both risky starts because of injury risk at the start of the season, we'll likely see Adrian Peterson taking the handoffs. Peterson showed in '05 he was more than capable of producing moderately well in the position. I think this club has "potential."

The Vikings will be finishing third in this division. They added former Raven, Chester Taylor, which will help the running game. However, losing Daunte Culpepper is going to be a bigger problem than they expect it to be. I do not think that he has the proper personnel to run the offense he is aiming at. I don't think that Brad Johnson is going to be successful with this team. They have some good players on defense still in Sharper, and Smoot and the emergence of young DLs, James and Udeze. But this team is far, far away--talentwise from the Vikes in years passed. Barring a miracle or an important acquisition, the season will look very simalar to 2005.

Onto the Lions. Well, get ready for another losing season lion fans! This team has not really upgraded. They bring in a rookie head coach in Rod Marinelli. They sign Jon Kitna, which is an upgrade--but look what they're upgrading from. Kitna is no better than Brad Johnson or Rex Grossman. And at running back, will be the 3rd year player, Kevin Jones. Jones produced well during his rookie year in '04 only to drop the proverbial ball in 2005. Jones may come under fire if he continues to play as he did last year, in which case Shawn Bryson or Artrose Pinner could come in to relieve Jones of his duties. The passing game will be upgraded, and I could see them possibly having the number 1 offense within the division, but they won't have enough firepower to wear the crown at the end of the season.

Now the Packers. I am going to try and be as subjective as possible (I'm a Packers fan). I think the team has upgraded tremendously from last season. They lost Javon Walker, but return Brett Favre. It will be interesting to see if Ahman Green can come out and have a successful season after an injury plagued 2005. Additionally we'll have to watch Samkon Gado to see if he was just a one-hit wonder, or if he is the real thing. Personally, I think he is going to develop into a tremendous running back. He is a smart guy, and is willing to do anything to become an elite NFL player. The Packers also got a real steal in the draft this year, and I'm not talking about AJ Hawk (I'll get into him later). Greg Jennings, wide receiver from Western Michigan has exploded in training camp. He is well ahead of schedule for most rookies, and will probably be a 2 or 3 receiver for the Pack this season. Defensively this team has only gotten better. They added Charles Woodson, which is a big upgrade from Ahmad Carroll. Al Harris is looking to add onto a very successful 2005 campaign. 2005 rookie sensation safety Nick Collins returns. They upgraded at linebacker as well, with #5 overall draft pick AJ Hawk (OSU) and round 3 draft pick Abdul "The Butcher" Hodge (Iowa) will be instant upgrades. The defensive line for the Packers was also upgraded. The Packers signed former Rams defensive tackle Ryan Pickett. Pickett has been very productive for the Rams in recent years, and is an upgrade over Grady Jackson. The Packers also re-signed standout defensive end Aaron Kampman. With KGB still there, and Colin Cole and Kenny Peterson filling out the other tackle position, the front four are going to be fine for the Pack. The kicking game is going to be a downfall for once with longtime kicker Ryan Longwell leaving for Minnesota. That will be a spot to look at. However, the biggest question mark for the Packers is going to be the offensive line. It's hard to imagine that a few years ago the line was one of the Packers strengths. However, the loss of Mike Wahle and Marco Rivera two seasons ago started the downslide of the Packers o-line. This past offseason they lost longtime center Mike Flanagan to free agency. They drafted Boise State standout Daryn Colledge, and Louisville guard Jason Spitz but thats a lot of pressure to put on a rookies. Whether or not the line holds up under the new zone-blocking scheme will ultimately decide whether or not the Packers are successful in the 2006 season. If they do--watch out. This team may be a sleeper team in '06.

Now onto my predicted final division standings.

1. Chicago --I think the Bears will win the division. This division is still weak, so an above average team will probably take the prize. Don't expect the Bears to go far in the playoffs though.

2. Green Bay --If the o-line holds up, this team wins the division. People don't realize that the Packers had the #1 defense against the pass last year. With upgrades to the linebacker corps. and defensive line this unit could be a top 5 defense. However, the offensive line is in shambles, and GM Ted Thompson did not do enough to repair it. If they can assemble a line in a few years and keep this team together, they will be a true contender in the years to come.

3. Minnesota --I don't think Brad Childress is going to be the coach many viking fans are expecting him to be. I don't like his offense, and I don't think its going to blend with the personnel he has in Minny. Not going to be a good season for the Vikes.

4. Detroit --I think Jon Kitna will do much better than Joey Harrington ever did. And those wide receivers have to produce something, sometime don't they? Unfortunately, thats still not enough if Kevin Jones' numbers continue to fall. The Lions finish dead last in the North this season.

Leading Passer - Brett Favre - He is going to have a breakout year with the receivers he has out there. This could change, however, if he doesn't get the time to throw the ball. I still think he will have the most yards though.

Leading Rusher - Thomas Jones - Assuming he continues to outperform 2nd year RB, Cedric Benson, he will be the leading rusher in this division fairly easily. Unless we see Ahman Green return to his old status, which is going to be hard with the players the Packers have on the Line. Samkon Gado may also be a possibility.

Leading Receiver - Donald Driver - Mr. Consistent will have another standout season. Favre will be looking his way often as well.

Wrote it for the webpage I'm a columnist on, tell me what you guys think.

On the Packers I would also add they need to retool the running game and WR corp. After Driver and maybe Jennings, there is not much at WR.

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I don't put a whole lot of stock into the likes of Ferguson or Gardner either, but I don't think that their any less deep than the likes of opposing North teams. I would take Fergie or Gardner over Kevin Kasper...thats right, say who.

As far as the running game, I addressed that I think Gado is the real deal, which will give the Pack an edge over the queens and lions. Chi-town is stil deeper at RB with Cedric Benson and TJ.

I think the Pack will take the title!!! I would love to know why you guys hate Sherman so much? Or is it you are making fun of him just to have fun? He was our coach for many years and I do believe he was a great one with one bad season. Also a great person besides the game of football. Maybe we did need a change of coaches I dont know, hopefully we will find out for the better soon.

agreed for the most part. not sure if GB can win 7 & not sure if chi town can win 10 - you just KNOW there's gonna be another qb controversy - all things being equal though, i'd say this looks pretty good, porky.

LMAO, man you cheeseheads are naive. Atleast make fair predictions...Packers will not go 11-5, you can stop dreaming.

Bears 10-6
Vikings 10-6
Packers 6-10
Lions 4-12

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I said it right there in my post I'm an easy critic to please when it comes to my favorite team. But I also want to know why not, why can't the Packers go 11-5? They have there future HOF quarterback there, there Pro bowl solid runningback (with solid backups I should say) They have Donald Driver/Greg Jennings who we all know can catch, and even Robert Ferguson in my mind will make some good grabs. Their Offensive line isn't as good as previous years, but there improving and I'm sure their working there tail off. The Defense well thats all great just as last season I see a good Defensive season this year to. Some people may question the Defensive Line, KGB and Kampman are very solid strong tackler, and the Defensive tackles arent the strongest or the best but I'm sure there going to do fine. The Linebackers, Ben Taylor/Nick Barnett/AJ Hawk, they all seem solid and strong to me (Taylor getting 113 and Barnett getting 139 last season) and A.J Hawk is a big and strong linebackers who knows what he's doing, the lineback backups Poppinga/Hodge/Manning there not bad, Poppinga and Hodge at best and Manning I question if he is as good but the others all explosive. The Cornerbacks, Al Harris and Charles Woodson, a great combination of strong, fast, and smart cornerback who can get some good interceptions. Ahmad Carrol, I see him doing good either this season or down the line he will grow soon and he will be tough. Jason Horton/Will Blackmon/Mike Hawkins can fight it for the 4th string and I'm seeing Jason Horton there for now he looked pretty good last week with the interception and all and I can see him getting some tackes this season (if he plays). And Safeties, Marquand Manuel (76 tackles last season) and Nick Collins (86 tackles last season) both seems like a good winning combination, I kind of wish Mark Roman was there though (90 tackles last season) I liked him a lot. Kicker Dave Rayner, he is no Ryan Longwell on field goals but he has power and thats what I like about him the ability to bomb a kick, So thats my outlook of this season, once again I ask, why cant the Packers go 11-5?